| NEWS
Final TBMs for Sydney harbour AUSTRALIA – Sydney Metro West is gearing up to build Sydney’s second under- harbour railway crossing with the arrival on site of the final TBMs. The two TBMs will dig the twin tunnels
from The Bays, under Sydney Harbour, to Hunter Street in the Sydney central business district (CBD) as part of the Sydney Metro West – Eastern Tunneling Package. The machines are the last of six TBMs
being used on the 24km-long Sydney Metro West line. The TBMs arrived in 32 pieces by ship
(16 for each TBM) and assembly is underway in the station box at The Bays, ahead of their launch later this year. The 1100-tonne machines will bore
tunnels parallel to Anzac Bridge, towards the new Pyrmont Station site, and then under Darling Harbour before reaching the Hunter Street Station site in the heart of the CBD. The mixed shield (slurry) TBMs are
designed to excavate through sandstone and under the harbour. This will be the second under harbour crossing undertaken by Sydney Metro using this technology following the successful crossing between Blues Point and Barangaroo as part of the City & Southwest project. Once launched, the TBMs are to advance
at an average rate of 90m per week and are due to reach Hunter Street Station by mid-2025. The Eastern Tunneling Package is being
delivered by John Holland, CPB Contractors (CPB) and Ghella joint venture (JCG JV). The Sydney Metro West line is scheduled
to open in 2032.
NY 2nd Ave subway contract US – First contract awards were made recently for the New York subway extension Phase 2 – on the about-to-be-enlarged Second Avenue Subway. New York’s Metropolitan Transportation
Authority (MTA) has awarded the first construction contract for the extension of the Second Avenue Subway in Harlem. CAC Industries won the US$182m contract
to relocate underground utilities from 105 Street to 110 Street on Second Avenue at the site of the future 106 Street Station, to allow the subsequent cut-and-cover construction of the station. The contract also includes temporary streetscape modifications that will be required during construction. It is the first of four construction contracts for the new line, which will
extend the Q train from 96 Street to 125 Street and provide three new accessible stations for the East Harlem community. Announcing the contact award, New
York’s Governor Kathy Hochul said advancing utility relocation ahead of station and tunnel construction was a major lesson learned from Phase 1 of Second Avenue Subway. Additional cost containment initiatives
include reuse of a tunnel segment that was built in the 1970s from 110 Street to 120 Street along Second Avenue, early real estate acquisition, adoption of ‘best value’ contract structures (such as A+B contracts), reduction in back-of-house and ancillary space, and close co-ordination of contracts.
TM Bever on Beveren refurb BELGIUM – The Flemish Agency for Roads and Traffic (AWV) has appointed TM Bever – a consortium of Besix, Besix Infra, Besix Unitec, Stadsbader, Stadsbader Contractors and Equans – to manage the renovation of Beveren Tunnel in the Port of Antwerp. The project includes structural
renovations, upgrading the road surface, lighting and technology, and modernizing the tunnel entrances. “We are also preparing the tunnel for the
climate and energy challenges of the future with the installation of a water treatment plant and a solar park that will provide half of the power capacity,” said Mobility and Public Works Minister Lydia Peeters. The environmental permit was issued at
the end of 2023, paving the way for work to start this year. Within the consortium, Besix and
Stadsbader Contractors are responsible for the civil works, Besix Infra and Stadsbader for the road works and Besix Unitec and Equans for the electromechanical works. Works on the bypass road are due to start in May and the tunnel renovation in July.
Detroit airport tunnels refurb US – Works to refurbish tunnels at Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport (DTW) are underway for a finish in 2027 for asset owner Wayne County Airport Authority (WCAA). The first project of the Dingell Drive
Tunnels and Roadway Rehabilitation Program includes improvements to the roadway surface, lighting, ventilation, fire protection, communications and monitoring systems, electrical systems and overhead signage. There will be structural repairs and stormwater collection improvements in the tunnels infrastructure.
WCAA awarded the US$85.5m contract
to Toebe Construction in Q3-2023. Funding is majority supported by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL), which Congress passed in 2021. The second package of works in the
project is in planning to rehabilitation the exterior drainage and waterproofing of the south and north tunnels. Works are due to start in 2025.
TBM on inclined hydro shaft CHINA – Inclined shaft boring with a CREG TBM recently holed through into the diversion tunnel for the 1.4GW Luoning pumped storage hydro power project, in Henan province, China. The TBM bored the 927m-long No.1
diversion inclined shaft at an angle of approximately 36° under cover over 184m-684m. Geology is mainly moderately weathered fresh porphyritic granite though the tunnel passed through two shear zones. Daily advance rates started at 3m-5m then to 8m-10m, and finally achieved 16m per day on the inclined bore. The machine is the first domestically
developed large-diameter and large- inclination inclined shaft TBM, said CREG. It added: “This marks a significant milestone in the successful application of TBM technology in the pumped storage industry in China and fills the technical gap in TBM inclined shaft construction within the country.” The project changed the initially
proposed series of upper and lower inclined shafts with a joining adit to instead build a primary inclined shaft, which is a new approach for such projects in China, said CREG.
NCC on Norway’s E136 tunnel NORWAY – NCC was recently awarded a contract to build new road and tunnel between Breivika and Lerstad in Ålesund Municipality in Norway. The works on the 3.3km-long, four-
lane road section of E136 are mostly in tunnel with the contract from Statens Vegvesen (Norwegian Public Roads Administration – NPRA) valued at about £115.3m. Construction start on the contract is
imminent and scheduled completion is 2027. The road is the main part of the major
Bypakke Ålesund infrastructure project to relieve traffic on the existing road network, shorten travel times, and improve both accessibility and road safety.
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